


Crack of Lightning

by rocksalts



Series: Suptober20 [18]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Team Free Will 2.0 (Supernatural), Winged Castiel (Supernatural), Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocksalts/pseuds/rocksalts
Summary: A storm comes down on the apple orchard and Cas injures his wing protecting Dean.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Suptober20 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977244
Comments: 1
Kudos: 95





	Crack of Lightning

**Author's Note:**

> suptober20 day 18 prompt: dark and stormy night (ficlet) | tfw 2.0 + destiel | ~ 1.4k words

It had been a nice day when they first set out to the only apple orchard in Lebanon, Kansas.

The air was cold but bearable, and Jack’s joyful smile when he picked a Dean-approved red apple was enough to make it worth it for Cas. Sam and Dean’s apparent ease as they strolled was another win, too.

They spent a solid hour walking between rows of apple trees, most of the time Cas walking next to Dean, who kept talking about all of the pie they could make with the apples when they got back home.

“Oh, and we’ll have to pick up some ice cream too, Sammy. A la mode.”

So Cas had pretended not to notice when the clouds gathered above them, forming a canopy that was sure to rain down on them at any minute.

It was fast to act, as well, as if hearing Cas’ silent plea and doing exactly the opposite just to spite him. Because before long, it was pouring, and it had quickly become a dark and stormy night.

Cas held his wings high, in hopes of shielding his family from as much rain as possible. Jack noticed and smiled at him in thanks, but Sam and Dean couldn’t see the source of their good fortune. They still got wet, of course, but Castiel bore the brunt of it, his hair flat and dripping water down his shirt.

Dean gave him a strange look when he’d noticed Cas’ state.

“Car’s not too far, if I remember right,” Sam said, voiced raised above the sounds of rainfall.

Cas nodded, shaking his wings a bit, and wrapped an arm around Jack’s shoulders.

“Keep them under mine,” Cas said, motioning to Jack’s wings, “It looks like lightning’s about to strike.”

And strike, it did.

Not _on Castiel, or any of them, but a few feet away, shattering some limbs of an apple tree, and making all of them flinch at the _crack _. With the wind so ferocious, a branch came flying, and Cas instinctively pulled Dean closer to shield him from the blow.___

___Then his wings curled in on themselves and he hissed, and Dean was gripping him by the shoulder, getting soaked._ _ _

___“You okay? What the hell?”_ _ _

___Cas drew out a shaky breath. Looking around them, he caught sight of the impala not far away._ _ _

___“There,” he pointed, and Sam led them to the car._ _ _

___Sam slipped into the driver’s seat and once they were all situated, the sound of the rain was only a dull _thwacking_ noise on the windows._ _ _

___In the back seat, Jack was looking at Cas with worry._ _ _

___“Cas, your wing–”_ _ _

___Sam started up the engine._ _ _

___“His _what?_ ” Dean twisted around to face them. Cas tried schooling his features as best he could, and tracked the rivets of water that raced from Dean’s hair to his jaw._ _ _

___“It’s nothing, Dean.”_ _ _

___“No, I think it’s _something_ ,” Dean retorted._ _ _

___Sam looked at Cas through the rearview as he backed out of the parking space._ _ _

___“You kept that branch from hitting Dean,” he started. “I thought you were just using your grace, but—but was that—?_ _ _

___Cas sighed as they merged onto the main road home. He didn’t want them to worry, didn’t want to turn what was supposed to be a fun day into a stressful one. He looked down at the basket of drenched apples in Jack’s lap._ _ _

___“My wings, yes. I thought—I thought I could shield you all from the rain, but the branch hit it when I tried to keep it from crashing into Dean.”_ _ _

___Sam’s eyebrows knitted together in worry. Cas felt his wing ache, and he was almost certain that he had broken it._ _ _

___“Damn it, Cas. I woulda been fine, and now your—your wing’s all—well, how is it?” Dean fumbled with his words, still facing Cas with his hands on the back of his seat._ _ _

___Cas pointedly didn’t answer._ _ _

___Jack huffed. “It’s broken.”_ _ _

___“ _Jack_ —”_ _ _

___“Broken?”_ _ _

___“How bad is it?”_ _ _

___“Well, how do we fix it?”_ _ _

___“It will heal by itself,” Cas said over them. They quieted down to listen, “It’s just that it’s…more difficult to keep them where there are.”_ _ _

___A beat. “What the hell does that mean?” Dean frowned._ _ _

___It was only getting harder to keep them hidden, and Cas felt them straining against the dimension he hid them in._ _ _

___“I’m sorry,” he managed, before there was a loud ruffle and his wings hit the insides of the car, his good wing just barely missing Jack’s head._ _ _

___The car swerved, and two shouts of “Woah!” echoed throughout._ _ _

___“Christ, Cas! Are—are you—are those—”_ _ _

___His right wing was scrunched up against him. It was the injured one, and it was even more uncomfortable even here on this plane, pressed achingly against the roof of Dean’s car._ _ _

___“Yes.”_ _ _

___“Okay, Cas, just hold on, we’ll be home soon,” Sam soothed._ _ _

___They did get to the bunker not ten minutes later, the inside chilly and dark, even though Cas was pretty sure they’d left the heater on before leaving._ _ _

___“Power’s out,” Sam told them, emerging from the maintenance room. He eyed Cas’ wings and then forcibly moved his gaze to Cas’ face._ _ _

___“How’s the wing?”_ _ _

___Cas was sitting slumped in a chair in the map room, shivering and dripping water all over the floor._ _ _

___“It’s…not as bad, now. Dean is getting me some dry clothes. Sorry…about what happened in the car.”_ _ _

___Sam shook his head, hair damp and sticking to his face in some places. “No, don’t worry about it, Cas. Really.”_ _ _

___Dean came in then, some towels and clothes folded in a neat pile._ _ _

___“Jack’s drinking hot chocolate in the kitchen. Told him to go shower and change once he’s done.” He placed the stack of fabrics on the table, studying Cas’ wings in a way that Dean probably thought was discreet._ _ _

___Sam muttered something about changing, too, and shuffled quietly out of the room._ _ _

___Dean took a towel from the stack and unfolded it. “What do we think, wings first, or the rest of you?”_ _ _

___“The rest of me,” Cas grumbled. “But I can do that myself.”_ _ _

___He held out a hand to take the towel, but Dean pulled it away from Cas’ reach._ _ _

___“Hey, it’s the least I can do,” was all he said before ruffling Cas’ hair with the towel._ _ _

___It was jarring, and then soothing, Dean rubbing rhythmic circles in his hair. If Cas hadn’t been so tense from his wing, he might’ve fallen asleep then and there._ _ _

___Then the towel was removed from his head, and Dean motioned for him to take his coat off, before stopping abruptly._ _ _

___“Oh,” he said. “Your…”_ _ _

___Cas wouldn’t be able to take his coat off without cutting it. He cringed at the thought._ _ _

___“Let’s leave it on, for now.”_ _ _

___“Hm. Then at least your pants, buddy. Socks too.”_ _ _

___Cas noticed they were _Dean’s_ sweats and socks, and not one of the few pairs he owned himself. He stood to change and toed off his shoes before Dean turned around._ _ _

___“I’ll…uh…just stand here and make sure they don’t come in.”_ _ _

___Cas nodded at his back and took off his wet clothes as slowly as possible, so as to not jolt his bad wing. When he finally was changed, Dean turned back around, the tips of his ears red._ _ _

___He was wearing new clothes, too—a faded t-shirt and sweats—but his hair was still drying and looked a shade or two darker than it usually did. He was holding out the second towel he had brought._ _ _

___“Um…can I…?”_ _ _

___Dean gestured towards his wings, and Cas nodded. He’d like to know what exactly might be wrong with it, though he suspected Jack's answer earlier had been correct._ _ _

___Dean was gentle. He started with Cas’ good wing before migrating to the broken one, touch feather-light in some places, and he didn’t probe the injured area at all. Just leaned in close to inspect it._ _ _

___“Definitely broken,” Dean mumbled, breath warm on Cas’ wound. “Is there…anything we can do to ease it, a little? I mean, I feel kind of responsible.”_ _ _

___Cas shook his head and tried looking over his shoulder to where Dean was standing. “No, I’m alright. Like I said, it’ll heal on its own. But…my wings will have to stay here for a while longer until they do.”_ _ _

___Dean nodded, and then let out a small laugh. Cas gave him a confused look._ _ _

___“What a helluva night this has become, huh? Rained in, power out, broken wings. C’mon, let’s go see if we can get you something warm to drink.”_ _ _

___“I don’t need to—”_ _ _

___“Ah,” Dean joked, “ _Need_ is different than _want_ , pal. I can make you some of Sam’s chamomile crap. Besides, I'm freezing."_ _ _

___Cas smiled fondly. Before he got up to follow Dean into the kitchen, he thought that maybe today hadn’t been so bad after all._ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> follow my tumblr if you enjoyed, @rambleoncas  
> I post my suptober20 prompts on there first ((:


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